Really wanted to continue to the Artemis art show before it ended. And also have been itching to make some art showcasing this photo. It's been my phone background since that day.
I'd like to make a couple more (late) pieces to the other themes + maybe one or 2 of my own.
On the matter of tags: an earnest attempt to communicate
As a random member of the Good Omens fandom community, I’d just like to toss my hat into the ring and attempt to clear up some misunderstandings. I also want to encourage some honest, good-faith dialogue in a severely fractured fandom.
This is not an attempt to convince anyone to interpret the finale a specific way. This is a practical conversation about how we discuss the finale in fan spaces.
For the purposes of this discussion, I will be focusing on tags as they are used on social media platforms like Tumblr, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram. AO3 tagging is considerable more complex and warrants a whole convo in its own right, so I won't focus on that here.
THIS POST INCLUDES DISCUSSION OF SUICIDE.
So, tags. Tags have become a thorny issue in the Good Omens fandom. I suspect this issue is so pertinent now, two months after the finale aired, because most of us have dropped “GO3 spoilers” tags, which people would have been filtering out if they did not wish to see anything from the finale. The finale is no longer a fresh commodity, so we are all trying to determine for ourselves what the next phase of our engagement with fandom will look like.
In fandom spaces, tags are a courtesy. No one can force anyone to use tags, of course. But tagging is a long-running standard of fandom etiquette across multiple online platforms. Tags are tools that help us find or filter out specific content. But what happens when we disagree on what tags should even be used in the first place? When tags themselves are a battleground?
I have seen assumptions that finale dislikers are demanding that all content with Asa Fell and Professor Anthony Crowley be tagged with “suicide.” It's possible that I’ve missed some significant conversations, but as someone on the disliker side, I have not seen anyone demand that Asanthony shippers use a "suicide" tag on all their posts featuring Asanthony. If anyone has asked that, I agree that it would be unreasonable! But I strongly suspect this perception comes from a game of fandom telephone in which different conversations are being conflated.
What IS being asked:
All content featuring Asa and Anthony should be tagged with their names or their ship name, Asanthony.
The "ineffable husbands" ship name should not be used for Asanthony.
Content warnings are strongly encouraged when sharing visuals of the scene where God grants Crowley and Aziraphale’s request to be removed from existence, specifically the moments as they disintegrate, as this decision is interpreted by many fans as a suicide.
Let’s address that first point now.
Tagging Asanthony as "Asanthony" makes sense. I think most people are already doing this. If you’re not doing this, well… I strongly advise you to reconsider. Tags aren’t just for those filtering out content, but for those seeking it. Someone who doesn’t want to see Asanthony can use this tool to avoid them, and someone who is specifically seeking out Asanthony content can use the tag to find them and share some appreciation.
Where we have some disagreement is the second point listed above: whether Asanthony deserve to be tagged with the general “ineffable husbands” ship name as well. I don’t think we’re ever going to agree on this one. Some people do see them as the same ship, and others do not. Personally I’m someone who does not see Asanthony as "ineffable," but I am okay to concede on someone using the general ship tag for them, as it really does boil down to one's own interpretation. In my view, so long as "Asanthony" is also used, tag them as you see fit.
Now for the third point. This is where I'll be talking about suicide.
Suicide is obviously an incredibly sensitive and distressing subject, one that is highly likely to carry a personal resonance for many fans on all sides of the GO3 debate. I understand why people are upset to have to bring this subject up in their tags when they do not see the final scene that way.
But if you do find it upsetting to even consider using that tag... that means you agree that this topic is distressing, yes? The ineffables' decision was genuinely genuinely distressing for people who interpreted their choice as a suicide. I am pleading with you to understand this: there are members of our community who struggle with suicide ideation, and that scene genuinely triggered some of these people.
You don’t like to see this tag imposed. Well, others don’t like to suddenly come across visuals that in their view shows a suicide. Not seeing Crowley and Aziraphale's decision as a suicide is just as much an interpretation as seeing it as a suicide is.
We will never agree on our interpretations of Crowley and Aziraphale's final request to God and how it played out. The fact remains that the scene where they make this choice and it is granted is triggering to a significant portion of the fandom. This is not a niche opinion.
We won't be able to reconcile our views on this. But we do have to share fandom spaces together. Blocking others who have a different approach to discussing this scene is always an option. But maybe we can also attempt to reach a middle ground in the form of a tag.
I have chatted with others about this, and an idea I have seen discussed is for the fandom to come up with a neutral term for the scene where God grants Crowley and Aziraphale's request, akin to how we settled on “the Final Fifteen” for the last fifteen minutes of season 2. This term should not favour one interpretation over another.
Some suggestions:
The Final Half Hour (or… the Final Twenty? How long is this scene? Anyone clocked it?)
The Decision
We’ve Come to a Decision (WCTOAD? Well, I do like toads)
Please chime in if you have other suggestions!
Like I said at the top, no one can force anyone to use tags. This is ultimately down to one's own discretion.
But I think it's fair to say that our fandom is currently in crisis. The community has fractured — or perhaps it is simply going through some very nasty growing pains. Maybe we can grow with it.
We will never be in a place where we all agree on GO3’s choices. Right now, we are all figuring out how we want to navigate this story and fandom we have all come to love. However we feel about the finale, we are all trying to find new ways forward.
We can argue about who’s right. We can block as we see fit. We can tag or not tag according to our own interpretation to make a point.
We can also decide to make productive choices that will help us all navigate our fandom spaces moving forward. Above all else, we can choose to be kind.
If you've read this far, thank you for hearing me out.
me when other people tag me in things: this person??? thought about me???? i'm so flattered??????? 🥺💕🥺💕🥺💕🥺💕
me when i consider tagging someone in a post: i am annoying!!!! i am overstepping every single boundary!!!! i am making an absolute fool out of myself!!!!!!
Read ICARUS’ FALL and more premium Fantasy Community series now on Tapas!
I made something I dare to be a bit proud of, and I would be delighted if people check it out. I know it’s no good omens, but I think it’s part of my joy that I’m able to continue with my original creations.
This post is going to be long and is going to dive into my (non-scientific) thoughts about the Good Omens Series Finale and the subsequent fandom fracture, including thoughts on behaviors of fans and specifically a call to action for fandom community leaders (server owners, event organizers, Tumblr Community creators, etc.). It will touch on some of the more triggering head canons that have come out of the Good Omens fandom regarding the series, but we will not be diving into those.
This is going to be long, and anyone who comments without reading the whole thing with takes about how I'm wrong/condescending/stupid for liking the finale/whatever is going to be blocked on sight. This is mostly me just getting my thoughts out and frankly I'm not interested in debating with the kinds of people who have been crawling into my ask box with hatred. I have better ways to spend my time.
So, I've been thinking thoughts since May 13th, but recently these thoughts have really crystalized for me. I largely have to thank whatever anon(s) keep sending some really fascinating takes plus the sock puppet account screaming on one of my posts, as well as watching folks interact and behave in large Good Omens Discord server spaces.
I think there's currently this thought process that there are really two main GO camps in the fandom: those who loved the finale, and those who did not. And somewhere there is a middle of group of those who are "unsure." I would like to challenge this idea.
And in challenging it, I am specifically going to talk about the death of nuance in how people relate to stories and media.
What I've realized is that a lot of folks seem to think that those of us who like the ending, or have positive feelings towards it, all think it's a happy ending. This is not true. I know this is not true because, frustrated by the state of fandom, I started @gomens-timeaftertime, a Discord Server (TAT) for folks who liked the Series Finale. This is a "small" server of 100 people only because I have put a membership limit on it. Otherwise based on how we've had to kick people who were not active, the number of requests I have to join, and folks who were interested in participating in our Warm Close event but hesitant to join a Discord Server, TAT would be a lot larger if I had the bandwidth to moderate more people. Which I don't. So.
But the point is, in TAT the takes on the Series Finale are wildly varied. There are several people who found the ending to be a happy one (lots of reincarnation, snow globe, multi-verse, sort of head canons there). There are as many people who found the ending to be a sad one (Aziraphale and Crowley as we know them are gone, the world as we knew it is over, and similar head canons).
And these are all people who still enjoyed the ending and are having a great time Slorching about. We are picking apart details, putting together fan events, screaming, analyzing and when we complain, because we do complain, our complaints are largely focused on the loss of 6 full episodes. Because I think no matter what you thought of the ending, we can all agree that that deserved 6 episodes and fuck NG and fuck Amazon for all the shit that took that away from us.
The conclusion that one can draw from such a varied group is that the ending of Good Omens S3 is complicated. It can be interpreted in a myriad of different ways, and it is, in the most Good Omens sense, an ending steeped in shades of grey.
Which I find, personally, to be beautiful.
Anyway, "sad" has not been equated to "bad" within this community. We leave space for those who are mourning, but they still jump on the "Ice Cream Truck Bentley's eyes FOLLOW HER PAPA" excitement train.
Therefore it's my belief that the issue amongst the larger fandom is that there are some people who are of the opinion that sad/uncomfortable = bad. Bad writing, bad production, bad directing, bad. These are the folks who hurl accusations such as S3 being a "bury your gays" ending when the finale explicitly ends with a married queer presenting couple sitting in a house they presumably own and being sweet together. They also are writing break downs of how the ending is an abusers final gotcha, ignoring years of interviews and comments from NG, STP, Rob Wilkins, Rhianna Pratchett, and more all confirming that the ending has existed for a long time, and that it is a collaborative ending between the two writers, and that the goal had always been between NG and the Pratchett Estate, to deliver. Also it ignores that said abuser wrote the ending before his abuse was made public, so he had no reason to write a final "gotcha" when at the time he was still working under the assumption he would not be found out and he would still continue to create more and more series (Sandman comes to mind, but also fuck NG).
Folks are picking and choosing what interviews to include in their defense of "this is clearly a Bad Thing" instead of coming to terms with the fact that the ending was not what they expected, and that is disappointing. They point at the genre labels (a deeply flawed labeling system of stories across media types meant to promote marketing and sales and not actually indicative of the story content itself). They point at specific quotes and ignore full interviews (specifically interviews where the contradictions are addressed as information previously NDA'd or unpromised was intentionally kept under wraps). They invent thoughts on how the entertainment industry works (there is no secret cabal trying to personally victimize you in the writers room, and frankly if this was a cash grab, they would've gone with a less divisive ending). They applaud someone for taking an illegal recording of an unaware actor who is making a glib remark (and let it be known, having worked in the industry: actors know what you're looking for pretty quickly when you ask them questions and will not hesitate to say whatever they think will keep themselves safe, "on your side" and make you go away faster, especially if they are under the impression that they are not be recorded).
In sum, these "fans" are using their personal interpretation (aka: head canon) of an intentionally complicated ending, and justifying the vitriol and disrespect they are spilling on other fans, the cast, the crew, the creators, the Estate, and more, by saying that the ending was, unequivocally "bad" and anyone who doesn't agree with them is wrong, stupid, an abuse apologist, and more.
Because why? Because it wasn't a clear cut happy ending? We know that the finale was already adjusted to fit the times (Jesus showing up as a celebrity on a giant plane has very different vibes in 2026 than in 1996.) So we know that this ending was conjured during a different time. And while the time we are currently living in is harder, increasing the desire for more uncomplicated happy endings, that doesn't mean we are entitled to such endings.
So okay, there's all of that.
Let's talk more about the fandom fracture.
Because the thing is, when the finale came out, I was a community leader in some large fandom spaces. And as someone who truly loved the ending (I love how complicated it is, I love that it is both gut wrenching [Michael destroyed their universe, and they decided to accept it to free themselves, and that means they are gone] and uplifting [fuck me am I a slut for soul mates and reincarnation tropes. They found each other again in a different life, a real life, without the movie framing, the found each other and got to make their own choices, and fuck that's what it is to escape a fucked up system and live, truly live, wow, does this mean they keep going and keep finding each other again and again? It must]) it was incredibly difficult for me to sit and watch people not just be sad, but be angry.
And this is where I think as a fandom we fucked up.
In trying to give space to those who were grieving a complicated ending, and the end of an era, and a show that should've gotten 6 hours, not 90 minutes, we legitimized those who decided "sad" and "not what I wanted to see" equals "bad writing/production/directing." In doing so, we gave them the space to come up with conspiracy theories ("not STP's ending", you know, a dead man who can't speak for himself, and I guess we can say fuck you to his living loved ones who fought for this ending?, "NG wants to abuse us all", I cannot even with this one it is so deeply insulting to his actual assault victims. Stop., "NG actually had a different ending in mind, and the six episode script will prove it", ... what.)
In doing this, we harmed the rest of the fandom, both those who enjoyed the ending and fell more towards the bittersweet to happy interpretation of the ending, as well as those who actually needed the space to process and just thought it was a sad ending, without ascribing bad to it.
So when I say things like "you're allowed to just...not like the ending" this is not me saying that the ending was happy, actually, get over it. Nor is it me saying you gotta buck up and smile. Its me saying you should take a step back and look at this ending more objectively. Do you actually hate the ending? Or did it just make you sad? It can be both! You can hate the ending because it made you sad and you wanted to be happy--but then that's on you to grapple with. No one went out to "do" this to you. No one went "You know what, let's make this a sad ending specifically to ruin this person's life." It's just a story, and sometimes stories have sad endings. And frankly, this is why I often tell people I don't "do" in progress media. My anxiety struggles with cliff hangers and I absolutely read the wiki summary before committing to a thing to make sure the ending is going to be what I want it to be. Good story telling can hurt and sometimes I'm into it. And sometimes, I'm not.
And maybe if it just made you sad, you should think about distancing yourself from communities where people are mad. Because it's okay to be sad about an ending meant to be complicated and at least a little sad (if not more). But that doesn't mean you've gotta throw the whole thing, including your fandom community, in the trash too. It does mean that maybe you need to take a more active stance against those who are insisting that their head canon is the only "correct" interpretation of the ending, are throwing around incredibly triggering topics around without care because that's part of their head canon, and are, at the end of the day, disrespecting and hating on the people who made a story.
Frankly, those aren't the kind of people you should want to be in a community with anyway. Misery loves company, and if you're sad, maybe don't hang out with the folks who are mad, they aren't going to help you feel better. And I say that as someone who is mourning the end of some incredible friendships because people who I thought would never have been absolutely engaging in some frankly disturbing behaviors.
In sum: there are so many ways to interpret the Good Omens ending, whether you're looking at the Television Series ending or the Book ending (I mean come on the book ends with them discussing the "big one" and it is not clear which side Crowley thinks they are on, humans or not humans). This kind of shades of grey, wait 20 years and come back again and see how it's changed, ending is precisely the kind of story telling I'd expect out of either STP (GNU) or NG (rot).
And if we're going to preserve the community that has become so important to us, then yes. We need to stop letting the loudest (not the majority, just the loudest) people trample the joy of our community. We need to hold them up to better fandom etiquette: no yucking other people's yum, kink-tomato, all that doesn't just apply to NSFW works, it also applies to "My head canon is different than yours, and you gotta stop shoving your deeply triggering take down my throat without a content warning." We've got to be more firm in that the very existence of Asa and Anthony is not, actually, something that should be spoilered because they are the result of suicide because that is a head canon, not a fact.
And frankly, if you want your communities, your big servers, your whatever, to live on, you've got to take this seriously. Your mod teams have to agree that, personal feelings about the ending aside, the ending is open to a multitude of interpretations, there is no space for conspiracy theories that are harmful or disrespectful to cast, crew, actual NG victims, etc, in these spaces, and that these spaces are meant to come together in celebration of the story, not to complain about how much something sucked. If you want your spaces to survive, to not become cesspools of the worse kind of feedback loops, you've got to make sure there's more joy than hate.
And if you're "in the middle" maybe take a step back from the loud voices and ask yourself: Are you in the middle? Or did something make you sad and the loud voices are trying to convince you that means that thing must not be any good at all?
I know I already reblogged this once. I didn't think I had anything to add, but it turns out that I do.
CW for discussion of mental illness and suicidal ideation below the cut.
One of the most disturbing reactions I saw to the GO finale, was people who felt suicidal over it.
I struggle with mental illness. I'm medically diagnosed with anxiety and major depression. Self-diagnosed with PTSD, possibly cPTSD as an abuse survivor. I have experienced suicidal ideation.
At 40 years old, after a lot of self-help and a string of therapists, I finally saw a pychiatrist and started medication.
I'm USAmerican. I know the shithole that is our medical system, the price-gouging of the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, and worst of all, actual hospital billing of uninsured patients.
As fans or former fans of the show, we have a duty to care for each other.
And yes, that duty of care includes giving people space to be sad, and room to grieve in all of its myriad emotions. Anger is a legitimate part of grief.
We ALSO have a duty of care to push back against harmful headcanons.
So, as someone who experiences these things, here is my advice:
If you have access to therapy, even a hotline / help line, please use it. If you can, talk about how you feel about the finale with a professional.
If you have a prescription for medication, stay on your medications. If you need to call your psychiatrist to adjust the dose or add a supplemental med, DO THAT.
To the extent that you can, practice self-management. Tumblr and AO3 are full of actual, legitimate grounding exercises (perhaps most popular is the 5 senses one). Any of us who have experienced intrusive thoughts, have experience resisting them. Challenge yours. Ask yourself why. Consider other (less-traumatic) interpretations. Keep a mind open to these other possibilities. Tweak your block list as needed for your mental health.
To the extent that you can, when you feel up to it, look after each other. It's legitimate in fandom to acknowledge: "Yes, that is one way of looking at it, but consider these others..."
Honest questions and genuine dialogue are great ways to interact. We do not have to think alike to care about each other. When you are open to listening, please do ask genuine, open questions, and consider what people say. When you do so, recall that as split as fandom currently is, it may take more than 24 hours for someone to have a good, different perspective for you. Do not give up immediately.
Gosh! This is such an incredible addition to this post. Thank you so much for sharing!
I do also want to add, regardless of where you live in the world, if you are two months out from watching the series finale and are still struggling to eat, sleep, stop crying or otherwise function normally because of the things the finale made you feel, this is not healthy or normal. I'm saying that because I'm seeing far to many people admitting to that online.
And I DO care for you as a human being which is why I am begging you to step away from the people who are screaming anger, and use the resources above to get help. Just talk to someone IRL about how you're doing and why. It is so, so, so important. We live in a hard fucking world, and it sucks when something we love doesn't go the way we expected it to.
I need you as a human to still be in this world though, because you matter. So I need you to take care of yourself and find support.
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